Raising Steaks: The Life and Times of American Beef (Hardcover)

~ Betty Fussell (Author)
Key Phrases: cutting room, new range wars, commodity beef, United States, New York, World War (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fussell (My Kitchen Wars; The Story of Corn) follows beefsteaks from cattle pens in 17th-century Manhattan to Brooklyn's Peter Luger Steak House today. On her visits to an independent Vermont butcher, ranching couples in Colorado and Oregon and feedlot owners in Kansas, Fussell critiques the polemical meat writing of Michael Pollan and the mythology of a rare, bloodied he-man food by giving an evenhanded look at the many sides of beef. One visit with Temple Grandin explores the work of the outsider cattle researcher who wants to foster a cow's-eye view of animal husbandry; similarly, Fussell's research into the lives of the men—and, particularly, the women—who raise and research cattle presents a human-eye view of an industry riddled with impersonal jargon and machismo. Fussell also participates in grading and weighing cuts of beef, attending an industry conference and even dressing in a pair of heels to play a part as a rodeo cowgirl. The breadth of her observations is impressive—from congressional decisions to simplified anecdotes from the voyage of Lewis and Clark and quotes from Woody Allen—but such details might become tedious for casual readers. Illus., with recipes. (Oct.)
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From Booklist

American steaks pretty well establish the world standard for flavor, tenderness, and especially size. And the blandishments of the nutrition police have little impact on the nation’s crowded steakhouses. Fussell, an unabashed carnivore, sets out across America to assess the current state of the nation’s beef industry. She surveys Texas’ open ranges, talking to ranchers and cowboys, ending up at the vast King Ranch with its untold thousands of steers. There she participates in the branding ritual. In Montana she investigates contemporary buffalo herds challenging beef’s red-meat hegemony. Working in a slaughterhouse provides Fussell intimacy with the fearsome process of dispatching and deconstructing beasts into the sanitized pieces American consumers find in supermarket cases. Recipes for steaks and accompaniments illustrate the many ethnic traditions that come together in American cooking. Less harsh and judgmental than many critics, Fussell worries most about the dangers of the beef industry’s sheer immensity. --Mark Knoblauch

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 1 edition (October 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0151012024
• ISBN-13: 978-0151012022
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #655,818 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars So bad I couldn't finish it!, November 12, 2008

By	L. Humphrey (Pima, AZ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book had great possibilities. The minor mistakes made me wonder if there were major mistakes. For example, the Mississippi River is not located near the 100th Meridian, they are GRAMA grasses, not gamma grasses, cattle do not eat yucca, under any circumstances, except for the seedstalk, Ted Turner's ranch is the Vermejo, not the Vermigo, Border Patrol vehicles are green and white, not blue and white. After reading these obvious errors in the first hundred pages or so, I gave up on the whole book. The author should stick to writing cookbooks. I saw she wrote the story of corn, but after the mistakes in this book, I'm not even going to look at the corn one. If an author travels across the country gathering information, presumably on an expense account, I think they owe it to the reader to get it right! I hate sloppiness!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars raise a toast, January 23, 2009

By	Gerald A. Mauri "chef jerry" (maryland, usa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

as always, betty fussell has produced another "keeper" for my food book/cookbook shelf. literate, comfortable to read, and incisive, this book gives not only a comprehensive background to the american love affair with beef, but also a realistic and humanistic look into the economic and ethical questions that every omnivore must ask about industrial food production in the 21st century. a terrific bibliography (including numerous trade journals) anchors the book. you won't buy this book for just the recipes, but the few that are included are tidy and illustrative, and she remembers to include a soupcon of cognac in the steak tartare!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than the Mad Cowboy series, June 23, 2009

By	Boola "Boola" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

After you read "Mad Cowboy" or "No More Bull", read this book to get an idea of the view from the other side.

Well-written and researched.